A Short Quiz on Belief

The idea is that by answering these 13 questions, you can find out where on the scale of belief vs unbelief you fall:

Do you believe that a particular religious tradition holds accurate knowledge of the ultimate nature of reality and the purpose of human life?

Do you believe that some thinking being consciously made the universe?

Is there an identifiable force coursing through the universe, holding it together, or uniting all life-forms?

Could prayer be in any way effective, that is, do you believe that such a being or force (as posited above) could ever be responsive to your thoughts or words?

Do you believe this being or force can think or speak?

Do you believe this being has a memory or can make plans?

Does this force sometimes take a human form?

Do you believe that the thinking part or animating force of a human being continues to exist after the body has died?

Do you believe that any part of a human being survives death, elsewhere or here on earth?

Do you believe that feelings about things should be admitted as evidence in establishing reality?

Do you believe that love and inner feelings of morality suggest that there is a world beyond that of biology, social patterns, and accident–i.e., a realm of higher meaning?

Do you believe that the world is not completely knowable by science?

If someone were to say, “The universe is nothing but an accidental pile of stuff, jostling around with no rhyme or reason, and all life on earth is but a tiny, utterly inconsequential speck of nothing, in a corner of space, existing in the blink of an eye never to be judged, noticed, or remembered,” would you say, “Now that’s going a bit far, that’s a bit wrong-headed”?

So here’s how the quiz is scored:

If you said No to all 13, you’re a hard-core atheist and rationalist materialist.

If you said No to the first 7, then yes to the rest: you’re an atheist with a pious relationship with universe

If you said Not Sure to any two of the first seven, you’re an agnostic

And if you said Yes to nine or more, congratulations, you’re a believer

I came out with a perfect 13 “No” answers, confirming my suspicions that I’m a cold and rational atheist. 🙂

How do you rate on the quiz? Do the results surprise you, or confirm what you already knew about your beliefs?